War Crimes Prosecution Watch Editor-in-Chief Natalie Davis FREDERICK K. COX Volume 16 - Issue 4 INTERNATIONAL LAW CENTER March 13, 2021 Technical Editor-in-Chief Erica Hudson Founder/Advisor Michael P. Scharf Managing Editors Matthew Pheneger Faculty Advisor Alan Dowling Jim Johnson War Crimes Prosecution Watch is a bi-weekly e-newsletter that compiles official documents and articles from major news sources detailing and analyzing salient issues pertaining to the investigation and prosecution of war crimes throughout the world. To subscribe, please email [email protected] and type "subscribe" in the subject line. Opinions expressed in the articles herein represent the views of their authors and are not necessarily those of the War Crimes Prosecution Watch staff, the Case Western Reserve University School of Law or Public International Law & Policy Group. Contents AFRICA NORTH AFRICA Libya Rights group: Libya fails to hold war criminals accountable (Washington Post) HRW: Al-Werfalli is still at large despite committing war crimes in Libya (Middle East Monitor) New mass grave found in Libya's Tarhuna (Anadolu Agency) CENTRAL AFRICA Central African Republic Central African Republic - Amnesty Investigation Reveals Full Horror of Conflict and Election Violence (Amnesty International) Central African Republic: Rebels Have Taken Over Schools (CAJ News Africa) Sudan & South Sudan Sudanese govt 'committed' to trial of Darfur war criminals (Dabanga) Hybrid War Crimes Court Promises Justice But Political Rivalry May Impede Pursuit (Global Risk Insights) Darfur women demand more power (Dabanga) Democratic Republic of the Congo Congo-Kinshasa: Quash Whistleblowers' Death Sentences (Human Rights Watch) Congo-Kinshasa: Death of an Ambassador and the Congolese Slaughter (Inter-Press Service) WEST AFRICA Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) Côte d’Ivoire: Legislative elections in Yopougon (Africa News) Lake Chad Region — Chad, Nigeria, Niger, and Cameroon Nigeria says army kills 25 Boko Haram militants in clearance operation (Xinhua) Deaths From Terrorist Activity Up Nearly 20% In 2020 (Forces Net) Liberia Kosiah Defense Witness Refuses to Leave Switzerland Saying His Life is in Danger (Front Page Africa) Liberia: Final Witness Backs Plaintiffs’ Allegations Kosiah Murdered Civilians (Front Page Africa) Prosecutor Pushes Court to Convict, Jail and Sanction Kosiah (Front Page Africa) Kosiah Demands US$1.5M Compensation (Liberian Observer) EAST AFRICA Uganda A Major Anti-Kony Verdict Is No Relief (Foreign Policy) Somalia Somalia: Al-Shabaab executes 5 people for spying (AA) Al-Shabaab takes credit for assassinating critical journalist in central Somalia (Horn Observer) Car bomb explodes in Somalia's capital, killing at least 20 people (CNN) EUROPE Court of Bosnia & Herzegovina, War Crimes Chamber Bosnian Serb Ex-Officers Face Crimes Against Humanity Trial (Balkan Transitional Justice) Interpol Urges Arrest of Bosnian War Detention Camp Guard (Balkan Transitional Justice) Bosnian Ex-Fighters Acquitted of Killing Serb Civilians (Balkan Transitional Justice) Bosnian War Defendant Dies Before Prison Camp Trial Verdict (Balkan Transitional Justice) Domestic Prosecutions In The Former Yugoslavia Croatia Indicts Serb Ex-Paramilitary for Torturing, Killing Teenager (Balkan Transitional Justice) Germany: Police arrest Croatian man wanted for war crimes (DW) Serbia Tries Bosnian Serb Ex-Soldier for Killing Prisoners (Balkan Transitional Justice) Turkey UN report says Kurds and Yezidis targeted by Turkish-backed groups in Syria (Kurdistan24) Kosovo Specialist Chambers Hague Court extends detention for Kosovo war veteran leaders (GazetaExpress) The Hague Prosecution Completes Investigation against KLA Commander Salih Mustafa (exitNews) New Court Faces Old Problems in Protecting Kosovo Witnesses (BIRN) Hague Prosecution Accused of Obstructing Kosovo Ex-President’s Defence (Balkan Insight) Azerbaijan Unlawful Attacks on Medical Facilities and Personnel in Nagorno-Karabakh (Human Rights Watch) Civilian death toll in mine explosions in liberated lands reaches 10 (Azernews) MIDDLE-EAST Iraq Syria Yemen Arms suppliers escape blame for the ‘world’s worst humanitarian disaster in Yemen (Sunday Times) Special Tribunal for Lebanon UN Secretary-General extends mandate of Special Tribunal for Lebanon for two years (Arab News) UN court to try Hezbollah member for Lebanon attacks (Arab News) Guterres Appoints David Tolbert as Registrar of the STL (naharnet) Israel & Palestine ICC opens 'war crimes' investigation in West Bank and Gaza (BBC) Gulf Region ASIA Afghanistan ICC assures Marawi Muslims of fair action on Aghan killings (Inquirer) Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal War Crimes Investigations in Myanmar Activists calls for sanctions in wake of Myanmar coup (Anadolu Agency) AMERICAS North & Central America Guatemalan genocide survivors march for justice (Al Jazeera) South America Colombia Seeks Justice for War Atrocities Via New Court (NY Times) Venezuela TOPICS Truth and Reconciliation Commission Paramilitary cooperation with truth commission threatens Colombia’s political superpowers (Columbia Reports) Terrorism Acting Deputy Attorney General John Carlin Delivers Remarks on Domestic Terrorism (Department of Justice) Cayman Islands, Morocco Placed on Terror-Financing Watch List (The Wall Street Journal) Mozambique: Civilians killed as war crimes committed by armed group, government forces, and private military contractors – new report (Amnesty International) Piracy Report: Pirates Return to the Caribbean, but West Africa Still Hotspot (Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project) Navy strengthens war against oil theft, piracy, launches Operation Cold Waters (The Guardian) Total of 5 theft, armed robbery incidents in Singapore Strait this year as of end-Feb (Channel News Asia) Gender-Based Violence EU Treaty Ratification Over Member Objections Wins Endorsement (Courthouse News Service) Commentary and Perspectives WORTH READING Marco Longobardo: The Legality of Closure on Land and Safe Passage between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank (Asian Journal of International Law, Forthcoming) AFRICA NORTH AFRICA Libya Rights group: Libya fails to hold war criminals accountable (Washington Post) By By Noha Elhennawy Feb. 25, 2021 CAIRO — A leading rights group on Thursday accused Libyan authorities of failing to bring suspected war criminals to justice for their alleged role in crimes against humanity since 2011. Libya has not brought any suspects before the International Criminal Court in the 10 years since the North African nation was referred to the ICC by the U.N. Security Council. The allegations center on suspected crimes committed either during the 2011 uprising that ousted and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi, or the civil war that followed. “After a decade of impunity for serious crimes, the wheels of justice ... seem to have come to a grinding halt,” said Hanan Salah of Human Rights Watch, which released the report. “Council members need to ensure that the court has sufficient means and political backing to do its vital work on behalf of victims of grave abuses in Libya,” Salah added. In 2017, the ICC issued three arrest warrants against Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, the late dictator’s son, as well as Al-Tuhamy Mohamed Khaled, former head of Libya’s Internal Security Agency, and Mahmoud al-Werfalli, a Libyan military officer. Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, who is charged with murder for his alleged role in the violent suppression of the 2011 protests, is believed to be hiding in the Libyan town of Zintan. He was released from custody in June 2017 after more than five years in detention as part of a pardon issued by the Libya’s eastern-based parliament. The oil-rich country has been divided between two rival governments, one in the east and another in the west, for the last six years. Khaled is wanted for alleged war crimes against prisoners held by Libyan security forces during the 2011 protests. ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda had previously said that he was in Cairo. Al-Werfalli is sought for his alleged role in, or ordering the execution of, 33 captives in the eastern city of Benghazi in 2016 and 2017. The ICC holds that the executions were filmed and posted on social media. Al-Werfalli has been serving as a commander in Libya’s eastern army, which is based in Benghazi and led by Gen. Khalifa Hifter. The ICC prosecutor has demanded the Egyptian government surrender Khaled, and that Hifter hand over al-Werfalli. “The ICC faces steep challenges in carrying out its mandate in Libya. Without a police force, it relies on governments of countries where suspects can be found for cooperation in arrests, and that cooperation has been inadequate,” HRW’s statement said. Since 2011, Libya has descended into chaos and has become a haven for Islamic militants and armed groups. The country’s rival governments are each backed by a vast array of militias and foreign governments. In October, the U.N. mediated a ceasefire between the warring parties and initiated a political dialogue that culminated in the election of interim authorities earlier this month. The new transitional government is expected to lead the country into general elections in December 2021. HRW: Al-Werfalli is still at large despite committing war crimes in Libya (Middle East Monitor) February 26, 2021 Human Rights Watch (HRW) criticised retired General Khalifa Haftar's failure to hand over the commander of Al-Saiqa Brigade Colonel Mahmoud Al-Werfalli, despite